The metamorphosis of a collaborative team: from creation to operation

Abstract

This paper reports on the process of developing a community-based interprofessional team to provide diabetes related foot ulcer care. A new interprofessional team was formed in a local community, and the process of building a successful team was examined by the adoption of an exploratory qualitative case study approach that gathered a series of one-on-one interviews with participants at three points in time – prior to the team’s formation, two months into the team’s operation, and finally seven months later – shortly before the team and its clinic closed. Interviews were also conducted with a small sample of the team’s patients. The factors linked to the successes and challenges of building a care team in a community setting are explored. Informants highlighted the value of regular team meetings, role clarity, and a commitment to patient-centered care. However effective collaboration was not sufficient to maintain the team in the face of poor institutional and government support.

• Case study
• diabetes foot care
• interprofessional collaboration
• interprofessional team
• patient-centered care
• qualitative method

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Health Force Ontario for funding of this project, and the editors and reviewers for their helpful comments. We also wish to thank all of the team members, particularly the patients, for their unstinting contributions to the project.